The moist air coming in off the Atlantic, originating in the Caribbean, and the small landmass of Ireland surrounded by ocean and the Irish Sea means that snow rarely falls and when it does the ambient and ground temperatures are usually too warm for it to last for more than a few days.
The past week has been just like that, cold air from the north and east bringing snow and icy conditions that lasted for almost a week have now changed with damp weather and heavy cloud causing the snow to melt.
Here is an image of a rural Irish scene, the green fields that are so typical of the country remain so green because of that lack of severe frost, ice and snowy weather.
Above on the north facing slopes of the mountains, carved by much colder conditions during previous ice ages, the blanket of snow can be seen, deep enough to be punctuated by trees and tall shrubs.
